Page 7 of A Thousand Cuts

He closed his eyes to fight back the sting in them, feeling King nose the back of his knee like he was trying to offer some solace.

Was he going to break now? After everything he’d fought through. Endured. Overcome.

He’d dealt with this for years.

No one understood the meaning of the word ‘cursed’ better than him.

He’d been cursed since birth, it seemed like. Carried them around like chains dragging behind him since he was old enough to walk, unable to outrun them as he grew older. It didn’t matter where he went or what he did; they showed up again.

They always did.

He was so tired of fighting an invisible enemy he didn’t understand. Being forced to participate in a game he’d never agreed to join.

He was exhausted.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Liam opened his eyes and glanced over his shoulder as King took a new stance facing the door, growling.

He wasn’t expecting anyone, especially this early.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The knocking wasn’t forceful or aggressive, but it sounded insistent.

He clutched the ties of his slinky robe in his hands as he skirted the bed carefully and walked out of the bedroom, eyeing the worn brown door a few paces away.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

His visitor wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

He padded over, King tight on his heels like a shadow. He turned the key in the lock and opened the door on the latch, just enough to look through the slit, eyes going wide and breathgetting stuck in his throat when he recognized the person standing in front of him.

Fix

The cursebreaker.

He was impossible to forget.

Tall, tattooed, and built like a truck. The streaks of silver at his temples and peppered throughout his beard were still just as attractive as they had been the first time he laid eyes on him. Thick lips that were made to kiss, heavy eyebrows that framed kind blue eyes, and the muscles…well…he’d just say that the red plaid shirt and plain denim jeans Fix was wearing were barely holding on at their seams, leaving Liam tightly holding on to his so he didn’t unravel at the sight of him.

Why? Because Liam wanted a daddy.

There was something about that dominance and the promise of safety and endless affection that drew him in like a helpless worm on a hook. It had never ended up going well for him. He had a terrible and complicated history that had left him worse off every time, yet he fell into the trap over and over with men who never turned out to be good, searching for what he needed but never finding it.

Liam had no idea if Fix was even remotely into that sort of thing, but heexudedeverything he’d ever dreamed about. Something inside Liam viscerally reacted to the aura this cursebreaker emanated.

He looked reliable.

He looked powerful.

He’d also blown him off.

King barked as if underlining this shot of reality, warning him not to walk willingly into the predator’s mouth once again.

Fix looked down to spot King at his knee and quickly flicked his eyes back up when all he met was the sliver of Liam’s barelegs. Liam felt a shiver run through him, even from that brief glance.

“What are you doing here?” he found himself asking.